17 Hawaiian Foods You Need to Try, Local Eats

Every year our family travels for a couple of weeks to Hawaii, and Oahu is one of our favourite places to go. We have a timeshare here and it allows us to experience Hawaii like a local for 2 weeks at a time. It is one of my goals to eventually move to Hawaii and live there full time. When you are on Hawaii, there are some local foods that you need to try. These Hawaiian delicacies can be found all over Hawaii, and they are easy to miss if you don’t search them out.

Some of the foods I will be sharing with you are desserts and others will be main course dishes. Either way, when you are in Hawaii you should try the local food. And if you do I suspect you will probably fall in love with it like we have. Not only do I love it, but my wife and my kids with a more strict pallet also love the Hawaiian food.

Hawaiian food is full of life and flavour, just like the state itself. The food is a medley of cultures and traditions including tastes from Japan, Korea and of course Polynesian! The food is fresh as food should be and very healthy for the most part.

17 Hawaiian Foods you need to try

17 Hawaiian Foods you need to Try

1. Acai Bowls

Acai bowls in Hawaii are a local favourite in HAwaii. We love to eat acas bowls in the mornings. It is extremely healthy and starts the day of right with a filling meal that will give you tons of energy you will need to do the strenuous activities you want to do in Hawaii like hiking and surfing.

Acai bowls are made with a granola base, acas berries, yogurt, bananas and other fruit. They top it off with some honey at the top if you choose. They are so good and if you are want something unique to eat for breakfast when you are in Hawaii, try the acas bowl.

2. Hawaiian BBQ

Hawaiian BBQ is my absolute favourite type of BBQ anywhere in the world. The Hawaiian style of BBQ is similar to the famous korean style, but even better. They use meats from Hawaii that have very little fat on them including pork, beef and chicken. These meats are marinated for days in a sauce that is mixed with pineapple for sweetness. They cut the meat thin and cook it up on a slow grill.

The meat is served on a bed of rice with a side salad. It is inexpensive and so tasty. My favourite place to get Hawaiian BBQ on Oahu is at the food trucks on the north shore, t he drive from Waikiki will take you around 25 minutes if you take the back scenic route. In Maui there are food trucks right near the Kaanapali area, and in Kauai our favourite Hawaiian BBQ was at Poipu beach. It is my favourite Hawaiian food you need to try.

3. Poke Bowls

Poke bowls are one of the most popular foods on Oahu and in Hawaii as a whole. The bowls are raw fish mixed with onion, soy sauce (or other sauces) and served on a bed of rice. They sell this stuff everywhere including corner stores and in every hotel and restaurant around Oahu.

They are a local favourite and tourist love to eat it up! If you are in Waikiki and want a good inexpensive poke bowl, you can go to the coco loco store right on the main road in Waikiki. They have a large selection there and it is only $7 bucks. It is a great lunch, just make sure you eat it fresh.

Hawaiian Poke Bowls

4. Kalua Pig

Kalua pig is like pulled pork cooked Hawaiian style. You will most likely try this at a Luau. They cook the pig over an open flame and slow roast it. The meat becomes fall off the bone soft and it is salted and flavoured from the inside. Almost like a stuffed turkey, but saltier and tastier. They serve this right in a plate with rice, or they will serve it on a bun.

5. Lau Lau

Lau Lau is Hawaiian pork slow cooked in the ground LOVO style and served on a taro leave. Having it slow cook in this manner makes it fall off the bone tender and it is extremely tasty. It is not exactly the same as Kalua pig, but it is similar. They are just cooked differently. The Lai Lai style is softer and tastier than the Kalua pig style of cooking pork in Hawaii

6. Cold Coconuts

During your scenic drive on Oahu, you can stop on the side of the road for a cold coconut. They are ripe sweet coconuts that local farmers sell on the side of the road. This is the cheapest place to get a cold coconut on Oahu. And it is a memorable experience.

At these road stops there is often local souvenirs for sale and other snacks and fruit.

Hawaiian Pupu platter

7. Shaved Ice

This is my all time favourite dessert anywhere on the planet. Shaved ice on Oahu comes in many forms. There is the fresh fruit style and the syrup style shaved ice.

It is kind of similar to a snow cone, but the ice is shaved and soft. On our last rip to Oahu we had both the fresh and the syrup style and we found the fresh is more expensive at around $8 and the syrup style is around $5USD. Either way I had one every day and our entire family loves these. One of the nice things about them is that they come in large portions that are shareable! Our favourite Hawaiian dessert food you need to try

8. Pineapple Ice Cream

If you have never tried this, you don’t know what you are missing. I stumbled upon Hawaiian pineapple ice cream by accident one day when I was visiting the dole plantation on Oahu. After I had it there I realized that they serve this stuff all over Hawaii and Oahu. The flavour is so unique that I can’t even describe it. You will just have to try it for yourself.

9. Fish Tacos

I know you can get fish taco’s anywhere in the world, but they are better in Hawaii. I have had fish tacos on every island in Hawaii and one of my favourite places to eat it was on the north shore of Oahu again at the food truck stands. Maui and Kauai both have food trucks as well and the fish tacos are amazing there as well.

In Maui, we had fish tacos in the Kaanapali area at a few local restaurants as well as at the Westin Kaanapali during happy hour. In Kauai we had fish tacos at our hotel at the Sheraton Kauai and in Wailea.

10. Pineapple Burgers

Pineapple burgers are my step dads absolute fav, I love them too. Basically they are a regular burger with thick meat, onions, lettuce and tomato with a Hawaiian sauce and a pineapple on the top. They are delicious and a local favourite in Hawaii.

Again As I like to support local businesses, the best place on Oahu to get these are in the north shore at the food trucks. On Maui the best place for these is Wailua and in Kauai the best place is the rooftop restaurant looking over Beautiful Poipu beach!

Hawaiian Halloween Pineapple

11. The Hawaiian Mixed Plate

The Hawaiian mixed plate is a share platter (kind of like a PUPU platter with all of your favourites on it cooked up Hawaiian style.

Included will be some sushi, Hawaiian style wings, Calimarie, carrot chips, and usually some Hawaiian style ribs. The last time I had a Hawaiian mixed plate was at the Kahala resort on Oahu. We shared the plate as a family and it held us all over for a few hours. It is delicious and there is something for everyone!

12. Taro Chips

Taro chips are a Polenisian favourite. It is made from the Taro root growing throughout Hawaii. The taro root has the texture of a potato, but a different taste. You either love these, or hate them. My kids and I love them. If you are travelling to Hawaii, you gotta try it. When you are in a grocery store looking for these chips, look for the purple ones. It seams weird at first, but trust me they are really good and healthier than regular chips.

Must try food Hawaii

13. Maui Chips

I did not say once that this article was going to be all about healthy food in Hawaii. The Maui chips are glorious deep friend heaven! They sell them at every ABC store and grocery stores as well as Wal mart and costco. They are a local favourite, and I found myself putting them in my burgers and eating whole bags at a time during our scenic road trips.

I have heard they sell these chips in the mainland US in some place, but I have never seen them there. For me this is a flavour of Hawaii, that I have only had in Hawaii. My #1 Hawaiian chip you need to try.

14. Ahi Tuna

Ahi tuna can be served many different ways in Hawaii. The fisherman love it, the meat is really good and there is a lot of it on most of the Ahi they catch. Ahi is the Hawaiian name for tuna.

I love eating ahi after spear fishing in Hawaii. I catch a bunch of fish and build up an appetite and when I am done, we sashimi some of the fresh ahi as well as gook some of it up on the BBQ Hawaiian style!

15. Spam Musubi

In Hawaii you will notice that a lot of stuff is made with spam. This is do to the Korean and Japanese influence on the state. Spam Musubi is a breakfast food. It is like spam sushi on a bed of rice wrapped in seaweed. It is really weird when you first see it, but it is delicious!

Fresh Fish In Hawaii

16. Huli Huli Chicken

This is bbq chicken thighs and legs marinated for days in a pineapple korean bbq sauce. It is cooked on the bbq over an open flame and should be prepared a little bit burnt for the best flavour. The locals eat this with rice and salad.

17. Garlic Shrimp

When you are driving around any of the Hawaiian islands like Oahu, Maui and Kauai. You will notice shrimp stands and farms around the farmland areas. On Oahu, these are popular on the north shore. There will be food trucks and seating areas set up for people to stop in and try the garlic shrimp! If you are in the Waikiki area make sure you stop in to Sams kitchen for the best shrimp on Oahu, it Is cheap and tasty!

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